Opposition lambasts Modi government over PhD student suicide case

Patna/Jammu: As the Opposition stepped up its attack on Modi government over suicide by a Dalit student in Hyderabad, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar yesterday said an 'environment of intolerance' led to the incident while Congress demanded that the Prime Minister break his silence.

With no let up in protests against the suicide in Hyderabad and other cities, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and NC chief Farooq Abdullah said there should be a central probe immediately and warned the Centre that the incident will blow out of proportion and will be difficult to control if this was not done.

BSP chief Mayawati, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, demanded legal action against Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya over the suicide by Rohith Vemula, a research scholar at Hyderabad Central University (HCU) on Sunday.

As a steady stream of political leaders visited the HCU campus, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said his party would coordinate with other parties in supporting the agitating students. “This is the fight for justice versus injustice. This is intolerance", he told reporters in Hyderabad.